Quad+bit storage in trap based flash design using single program and erase entity as logical cell

ABSTRACT

Flash memory systems and methodologies are provided herein for facilitating single logical cell erasure and quad or more bit storage in a flash device. The single logical cell erasure can be accomplished by employing a single program and erase entity as a single logical cell. The single program and erase entity is a combination of neighboring drain/source regions of two adjacent physical memory cells. By mapping two adjacent physical cells as a single logical cell, the flash memory device can be programmed and erased on a single bit or variable bit length basis. The memory cells can contain four or more data states, and each of the two adjacent memory cells in the single program and erase entity can be programmed independently from each other. As a result, the single program and erase entity can store four or more bits.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The following description relates generally to methods and systems forquad or more bit storage in a flash device using a single program anderase entity as a logical cell.

BACKGROUND

Electronic devices with the ability to store information (electronicdevices) are an important part of society. Electronic devices influencealmost every aspect of life, ranging from business transactions tointerpersonal communications. Examples of electronic devices includecellular telephones, personal digital assistants, and personalcomputers. One important aspect of electronic devices is the ability tostore information in digital memory. Digital memory can be provided, forexample, by a flash device. Flash memory has the advantages of beingreadable, rewritable, and non-volatile (i.e., flash memory can retaininformation without a draw from a constant source of power).Additionally, a flash memory device is relatively inexpensive tomass-produce, making it a desirable choice for personal applicationssuch as storing digital photographs and storing digital music files.Moreover, flash devices generally have an expected lifespan of about onemillion programming cycles.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of the information disclosedin the specification in order to provide a basic understanding of someaspects of the disclosed information. This summary is not an extensiveoverview of the disclosed information, and is intended to neitheridentify key or critical elements of the disclosed information nordelineate the scope of the disclosed information. Its sole purpose is topresent some concepts of the disclosed information in a simplified formas a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

Conventional flash devices store information in memory cells that areconnected to each other via bitlines and wordlines to form a memoryarray. Each memory cell in a memory array is capable of storing one ormore bits of information. A memory cell is programmed or erased bysupplying appropriate program or erase voltage levels, respectively, toa wordline and bitline in the memory array that is connected to the cellto be programmed or erased. Conventional flash devices are typicallyerased in units of memory called sectors or blocks instead of beingerased at a logical cell level, wherein all bits in a given sector orblock are switched to a predetermined polarity (e.g., low voltage stateor low VT state) when the sector or block is erased.

The disclosed innovation herein provides systems and methodologies forfacilitating single logical cell erasure, and quad or more bit storagein a flash device using a single program and erase entity as a singlelogical cell. The single logical cell erasure can be accomplished byemploying a single program and erase entity as a single logical cell.The single program and erase entity is a combination of neighboringdrain/source regions of two adjacent physical memory cells. Logical cellmapping is changed from using a single physical cell to using pairphysical cells. By mapping two adjacent physical cells as a singlelogical cell (e.g., single program and erase entity), the flash memorydevice can be programmed and erased on a single bit or variable bitlength basis with conventional technologies. The memory cells cancontain four or more data states, and each of the two adjacent memorycells in the single program and erase entity can be programmedindependently from each other. As a result, the single program and eraseentity can store four or more bits.

The following description and the annexed drawings set forth certainillustrative aspects of the specification. These aspects are indicative,however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of thespecification may be employed. Other advantages and novel features ofthe specification will become apparent from the following detaileddescription of the disclosed information when considered in conjunctionwith the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view of an exemplary dual bit flash device in accordancewith one aspect of the specification.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a portion of an exemplary memorycore, such as can include at least part of one of the cores depicted inFIG. 1 in a virtual ground type configuration in accordance with oneaspect of the specification.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a portion of an exemplary memory core, such ascan include at least part of one of the cores depicted in FIG. 1 inaccordance with one aspect of the specification.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of a portion of an exemplary memorydevice containing a single program and erase entity, such as that takenalong line A-A of FIG. 3 in accordance with one aspect of thespecification.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary single program anderase entity wherein charges can be trapped in the single program anderase entity in accordance with one aspect of the specification.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for trapping chargesin a single program and erase entity in accordance with one aspect ofthe specification.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are cross-sectional views of an exemplary single programand erase entity wherein charges can be trapped in one physical memorycell of the single program and erase entity in accordance with oneaspect of the specification.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary single program anderase entity wherein charges can be neutralized in the single programand erase entity in accordance with one aspect of the specification.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for neutralizingcharges in a single program and erase entity in accordance with oneaspect of the specification.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary system for operating aflash device that contains a plurality of single program and eraseentities in accordance with one aspect of the specification.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of an exemplary methodology for operating aflash device using single program and erase entities in accordance withone aspect of the specification.

FIGS. 13-15 illustrate Vt distributions of a physical memory cell of asingle program and erase entity in accordance with one aspect of thespecification.

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram of an exemplary methodology for operating aflash device using single program and erase entities, and using memorycells containing four or more data states in accordance with one aspectof the specification.

FIG. 17 illustrates cross-sectional views of an exemplary single programand erase entity wherein charges can be trapped and neutralized in thesingle program and erase entity in accordance with one aspect of thespecification.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for trappingcharges and neutralizing trapped charges performed on an exemplary arrayof single program and erase entities in accordance with one aspect ofthe specification.

FIGS. 19 a and 19 b illustrate tables depicting exemplary mapping ofvoltage levels to a one-bit binary value in accordance with one aspectof the specification.

FIG. 20 is a schematic illustration for an exemplary method ofprogramming and erasing single program and erase entities using a lowvoltage state as an erased state in accordance with one aspect of thespecification.

FIG. 21 is a schematic illustration for an exemplary method ofprogramming and erasing single program and erase entities using a highvoltage state as an erased state in accordance with one aspect of thespecification.

FIGS. 22 a and 22 b illustrate tables depicting exemplary mapping ofvoltage levels to a two-bit binary value in accordance with one aspectof the specification.

FIG. 23 is a schematic illustration for an exemplary method ofprogramming and erasing single program and erase entities using a lowvoltage state as an erased state when the single program and eraseentities have a two-bit binary value in accordance with one aspect ofthe specification.

FIG. 24 is a schematic illustration for an exemplary method ofprogramming and erasing single program and erase entities using a highvoltage state as an erased state when the single program and eraseentities have a two-bit binary value in accordance with one aspect ofthe specification.

FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary flash device thatcontains a plurality of single program and erase entities using a highvoltage state as an erased state in accordance with one aspect of thespecification.

FIG. 26 is a flow diagram of an exemplary methodology for operating aflash device that contains a plurality of single program and eraseentities using a high voltage state as an erased state in accordancewith one aspect of the specification.

FIG. 27 is a table for depicting an exemplary mapping of an erasedirection indicator bit to a one-bit binary value in accordance with oneaspect of the specification.

FIG. 28 is a schematic illustration for an exemplary method ofprogramming and erasing single program and erase entities using an erasedirection indicator bit in accordance with one aspect of thespecification.

FIG. 29 is a table for depicting an exemplary mapping of an erasedirection indicator bit to a two-bit binary value in accordance with oneaspect of the specification.

FIG. 30 is a schematic illustration for another exemplary method ofprogramming and erasing single program and erase entities using an erasedirection indicator bit in accordance with one aspect of thespecification.

FIG. 31 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary flash device thatcontains a plurality of single program and erase entities and an erasedirection indicator cell in accordance with one aspect of thespecification.

FIG. 32 is a flow diagram of an exemplary methodology for operating aflash device that contains a plurality of single program and eraseentities using an erase direction indicator in accordance with oneaspect of the specification.

FIG. 33 is a flow diagram of another exemplary methodology for operatinga flash device that contains a plurality of single program and eraseentities using an erase direction indicator in accordance with oneaspect of the specification.

FIG. 34 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary flash device thatemulates byte alterability in the flash device using single program anderase entities in accordance with one aspect of the specification.

FIG. 35 is a schematic illustration for an exemplary method of emulatingbyte alterability in a flash device using single program and eraseentities in accordance with one aspect of the specification.

FIG. 36 is a flow diagram of an exemplary methodology for emulating bytealterability in a flash device using single program and erase entitiesin accordance with one aspect of the specification.

FIG. 37 is a top view of another exemplary dual bit flash device inaccordance with one aspect of the specification.

FIG. 38 is a schematic illustration a portion of a flash memory corecontaining multiple virtual ground decoding schemes in accordance withone aspect of the specification.

FIG. 39 is a flow diagram of an exemplary methodology for operating aflash memory containing multiple virtual ground decoding schemes inaccordance with one aspect of the specification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Flash memory is a type of semi conductor computer memory with manydesirable characteristics. Like read only memory, ROM, it isnon-volatile, meaning that the contents of the memory are stable andretained without applied electrical power. A major advantage of flashover ROM is that the memory contents of flash can be changed after thedevice is manufactured. However, flash memory generally can not bewritten to, or programmed, at rates comparable to random access memory,RAM. Further, flash generally must be erased, either in its entirety orin large segments called sector or blocks, prior to changing itscontents since pairs of memory cells share a bitline.

Typically, a conventional flash memory cell is described as being eitherin a low voltage state or low VT state (e.g., erased state) or a highvoltage state or high VT state (e.g., programmed state). The low voltagestate (e.g., erased state) is typically assigned to a binary value “1”and the high voltage state (e.g., programmed state) is typicallyassigned to a binary value 0.

Conventional flash memories generally allow bit changes only in onedirection. A binary value “1” stored in a flash memory cell can bechanged to a binary value “0” by a programming operation. Changing abinary value “0” by a programming operation into a binary value “1,”however, is generally not possible. Changing programmed cells (binaryvalue “0”) to the logic state “1” is only possible with an eraseoperation. An erase operation cannot be performed on single bits, butonly on a larger amount of data.

A page, sector, block, or array of conventional flash memory isgenerally erased before new data are stored in that page, sector, block,or array. Erasing is performed as a blanket operation wherein a page,sector, block, or array of memory cells is simultaneously erased. Thisconventional erase process is referred to as a page erase, sector erase,block erase, or flash erase (hereinafter, collectively referred to as a“sector erase”). The sector erase is generally a long process, typicallymeasured in hundreds of milliseconds. Conventional flash memories do notsupport single logical cell erasure. As a result, conventional flashmemories do not support byte alterability. This is a disadvantagecompared to RAM and hard drives, which can be written directly, withoutan interposing erasure.

The subject innovation described herein provides systems forfacilitating a single logical cell erasure in a flash memory device. Thesingle logical cell erasure can be accomplished by employing a singleprogram and erase entity as a single logical cell. The single programand erase entity is a combination of neighboring drain/source regions oftwo adjacent memory cells. By mapping two adjacent physical cells as asingle logical cell (e.g., single program and erase entity), the flashmemory device can be programmed and erased on a byte or variable lengthbasis.

The flash memory device that can be employed in the subject innovationcan contain dual bit memory cells or mirror bit memory cells(hereinafter, collectively referred to as a “dual bit memory cell”) thathave a semiconductor substrate with implanted conductive bitlines. Thedual bit memory cell contains a charge trapping dielectric layer thatcan contain one or more layers and can be formed over the semiconductorsubstrate. For example, the charge trapping dielectric layer containsthree separate layers: a first insulating layer, a charge trappingdielectric layer, and a second insulating layer. Wordlines are formedover the charge trapping dielectric layer substantially perpendicular tothe bitlines. Programming circuitry controls two bits per cell byapplying a signal to the wordline, which acts as a control gate, andchanging bitline connections such that one bit is stored by source anddrain being connected in one arrangement and a complementary bit isstored by the source and drain being interchanged in anotherarrangement. The details of the structure and manufacture of the dualbit flash memory device are not critical to the practice of the subjectinnovation. The details of the structure and manufacture of the dual bitflash memory device can be found in, for example, commonly-assigned U.S.Pat. No. 7,176,113, issued Feb. 13, 2007, which is hereby incorporatedby reference.

The claimed subject matter is now described with reference to thedrawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to likeelements throughout. In the following description, for purposes ofexplanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. It may beevident, however, that the claimed subject matter may be practicedwithout these specific details. In other instances, well-knownstructures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order tofacilitate describing the claimed subject matter.

FIG. 1 illustrates a top view of an exemplary dual bit flash device 100.The flash device 100 generally includes a semiconductor substrate 102 inwhich one or more high-density core regions 104 and one or morelower-density peripheral portions are formed. The high-density coreregions 104 include one or more M by N arrays of individuallyaddressable, substantially identical single program and erase entities106. The single program and erase entities include two adjacent dual bitflash memory cells.

The lower-density peripheral portions on the other hand typicallyinclude input/output (I/O) circuitry 108 and programming circuitry forselectively addressing the individual single program and erase entities.The programming circuitry is represented in part by and includes one ormore wordline decoders 110 and one or more bitline decoders 112 thatcooperate with the I/O circuitry 108 for selectively connecting asource, gate, and/or drain of selected addressed single program anderase entities to predetermined voltages or impedances to effectdesignated operations on the respective single program and eraseentities (e.g., programming, reading, and erasing, and derivingnecessary voltages to effect such operations). In one embodiment, thedual bit flash device 100 is a trap based NOR flash device.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a portion 200 of an exemplarymemory core such as can include at least part of one of the M by N arraycores 104 depicted in FIG. 1. The circuit schematic shows a group ofphysical memory cells 201 through 204 in a virtual ground typeimplementation, for example. The respective physical memory cells 201through 204 are connected to a wordline 206, which serves as a controlgate, and pairs of the physical memory cells share a bitline. Forinstance, in the example shown, the physical memory cell 201 hasassociated bitlines 208 and 209; the physical memory cell 202 hasassociated bitlines 209 and 210; the physical memory cell 203 hasassociated bitlines 210 and 211; and the physical memory cell 204 hasassociated bitlines 211 and 212. As such, cells 201 and 202 sharebitline 209, cells 202 and 203 share bitline 210 and cells 203 and 204share bitline 211, respectively. In the subject innovation, two adjacentphysical memory cells can be combined to provide a single program anderase entity 215, 216 as a single logical cell. Depending upon a signalon the wordline and the connection of the bitlines in a single programand erase entity to an electrical source or drain, the single programand erase entities are capable of writing, reading, and erasing bits atlocations 217 through 220.

FIG. 3 illustrates a top view of a portion 300 of an exemplary memorycore, such as can include the M by N array cores 104 depicted in FIG. 1.The memory 300 can be formed upon a semiconductor substrate 302 and havea plurality of implanted bitlines 304 extending substantially parallelto one another, and further include a plurality of formed wordlines 306extending substantially in parallel to one another and at substantiallyright angles to the plurality of implanted bitlines 304. It will beappreciated that the wordlines 306 and bitlines 304 have contacts andinterconnections (not shown) to programming circuitry such as can berepresented, at least in part, by wordline decoders and bitlinedecoders.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of a portion of an exemplary memorydevice 400 containing a single program and erase entity as indicated bya dashed line 402, such as that taken along line A-A of FIG. 3. Thesingle program and erase entity 402 can contain two adjacent physicalmemory cells 404, 406 that share a common bitline 408. The singleprogram and erase entity can contain other two bitlines 410 that are notshared by the two adjacent physical memory cells 404, 406 (hereinafter,referred to as “non-common bitlines”).

The physical memory cell 404, 406 can be a dual bit memory cell. Thephysical memory cell 404, 406 has dual bit locations 412, 414, 4144, 418where a charge can be stored. As will be described in detail below, thesingle program and erase entity 402 can store varying degrees of chargeat two locations 414, 416 close to the common bitline 408. It will beappreciated that the physical memory cell 404, 406 can correspond to thephysical memory cells 201 through 204 depicted in FIG. 2.

The physical memory cell 404, 406 typically includes a charge trappingdielectric layer 420 that contains a charge trapping layer 422sandwiched between two dielectric layers 424, 426. In one embodiment,the two charge storage nodes 412, 414 are physically separated by acentral dielectric (not shown) in the charge trapping dielectric layer420. The configuration and/or constituent of the charge trappingdielectric layer 420 can vary and are not critical to the subjectinnovation. The charge trapping dielectric layer 420 can contain a firstinsulating layer 424 (e.g., a bottom dielectric layer or a tunnelingdielectric layer), a charge trapping layer 420, and a second insulatinglayer 426 (e.g., a top dielectric layer). The first insulating layer 424and/or the second insulating layer 426 can contain silicon oxide (e.g.,SiO₂), other standard-K material (e.g., having a relative permittivitybelow ten), or a high-K material (e.g., having a relative permittivity,in one embodiment, above about ten and, in another embodiment, aboveabout twenty).

The charge trapping dielectric layer 420 can contain any suitable chargetrapping layer 422. Examples of charge trapping layers 422 includenitrides (e.g., silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, and silicon richnitride), oxides, silicates, a high-k dielectric, for example, having adielectric constant higher than that of silicon dioxide (SiO₂), and thelike. In one embodiment, the first and second dielectric layers 424, 426contain oxide dielectrics such as silicon dioxide (SiO₂) and the chargetrapping layer contains nitride dielectrics such as silicon nitride(Si_(x)N_(y)). The oxide-nitride-oxide configuration can be referred toas an ONO layer. Especially, when the nitride layer contains siliconrich nitride, the oxide-nitride-oxide configuration can be referred toas an ORO tri-layer. The oxide-nitride-oxide ti-layer can be fabricatedby forming a first silicon oxide layer, forming a silicon nitride layeron the first silicon oxide layer, and forming a second silicon oxidelayer on the silicon nitride layer. In another embodiment, the chargetrapping dielectric layer 420 contains five separate layers, forexample, oxide-nitride-polysilicon-nitride-oxide. Theoxide-nitride-polysilicon-nitride-oxide configuration can be referred toas an ORPRO layer when the nitride layer contains silicon rich nitride.

The charge trapping layer 420 can be formed over a substrate 428 thatcan contain silicon or some other semiconductor material. The substrate428 can be selectively doped with a p-type dopant, such as boron, forexample, to alter its electrical properties. In the example illustrated,the substrate 428 has buried bitlines or bitline diffusions 408, 410.The bitline diffusions can be formed by an implanted n-type dopant suchas arsenic, phosphorous, and antimony, and can correspond to bitlines208 through 212 in FIG. 2. A channel 430 is defined within the substratebetween the bitlines (e.g., S/D extensions, deep S/D regions).

Overlying the upper dielectric layer 426 of the charge trappingdielectric layer 420 is a gate 432. This gate 432 can be formed from apolysilicon material and can be doped with an n-type impurity (e.g.,phosphorus) to alter its electrical behavior. The gate 432 cancorrespond to the wordlines 206 in FIG. 2. The gate 432 enables avoltage to be applied to the single program and erase entity 402 suchthat respective charges can, among other things, be stored within thesingle program and erase entity at locations 414, 416. As will bedescribed in detail below, the physical memory cell 404, 406 of thesingle program and erase entity 402 can store different amounts ofcharge 434, 436, 438.

FIGS. 5-10 illustrate exemplary methods for trapping and neutralizingcharges in charge trapping layers of single program and erase entities.By trapping charges in charge trapping layers, single program and eraseentities can achieve a high voltage state (e.g., high VT state). Byneutralizing charges in charge trapping layers, single program and eraseentities can achieve a low voltage state (e.g., low VT state). FIGS.5-10 illustrate the use of channel hot-electron-injection andhot-hole-injection to achieve the desired voltage state. It should beappreciated that the particular method and memory cell architectureillustrated by FIGS. 5-10 are only some of many possible high-voltageand/or high-current operations and memory cell architectures that canutilize the embodiments disclosed herein, and that all such operationsand architectures are intended to fall within the scope of the heretoappended claims. A low voltage state may be referred to as a “low VT(low threshold voltage) state,” and the low voltage state can beequivalent to the low VT state in some instances. A high voltage statemay be referred to as a “high VT (high threshold voltage) state,” andthe high voltage state can be equivalent to the high VT state in someinstances.

FIG. 5 specifically illustrates a method for trapping charges in asingle program and erase entity 500 containing two adjacent physicalmemory cells 502, 504. To trap charges in charge trapping layers 506 ofsingle program and erase entities, a gate (e.g., a wordline) 508 can beset to high voltages (hereinafter, referred to as“hot-electron-injection gate voltage”), a common bitline 510 can be setto a predetermined potential above the non-common bitlines (hereinafter,referred to as “hot-electron-injection bitline voltage”), and non-commonbitlines 512 that are not shared by the two adjacent physical cells canbe connected to ground, left to float, or biased to a different voltagelevel. In one embodiment, the voltage across the wordline 508 can beabout 9 volts and the voltage across the common bitline 510 can be about4 volts. The applied voltages generate a vertical electric field throughthe charge trapping layer 506, and generate a lateral electric fieldacross a length of the channel 514 from the non-common bitlines 512 tothe common bitline 510. At a given voltage, the channels 514 invert suchthat electrons are drawn off the non-common bitlines and beginaccelerating towards the common bitline.

As the electrons move along the length of the channel 514, the electronsgain energy and, upon attaining enough energy, the electrons jump overthe potential barrier of the first dielectric layer (e.g., bottomdielectric layer) 516 and into the charge trapping layer 518, where theelectrons become trapped. The probability of electrons jumping thepotential barrier in this arrangement is a maximum at locations 520, 522close to the common bitline 510, where the electrons have gained themost energy. These accelerated electrons are termed hot electrons and,once injected into the charge trapping layer 518, stay in about thegeneral area indicated as charge trapping regions 520, 522. The trappedelectrons tend to remain generally localized due to the low conductivityof the charge trapping layer 518 and the low lateral electric fieldtherein.

The presence or absence of a trapped charge in the charge trapping layer506 of the single program and erase entity 500 can then correspond to abit of data stored by the single program and erase entity 500. Thepresence or absence of a trapped charge can be read by determining theexistence of a trapped charge in the charge trapping layer 518 at thatlocation. Although not shown in FIG. 5, for a read operation, inaddition to voltages applied to the gate 508 (e.g., the wordline), thenon-common bitlines 512 are connected to drains and the common bitline510 is connected a source. The voltage applied to the gate 508 causes acurrent from the non-common bitlines 512 to the common bitline 510. Theresulting current is measured, by which a determination is made as tothe value of the data stored in the single program and erase entity 500.For example, if the current is above a certain threshold, the bit isdeemed unprogrammed or a logical one, whereas if the current is below acertain threshold, the bit is deemed to be programmed or a logical zero.

In this example, by setting the common bitline 510 to high voltageswhile setting both non-common bitlines 512 to ground, charges aretrapped in charge trapping layers 506 of the two adjacent physicalmemory cells 502, 504 at the same time. The dotted line 524 illustratesone possible path through which electrons can move as they pass from thenon-common bitlines 512 to the common bitline 510 of the single programand erase entity 500 based on the voltages applied to the single programand erase entity 500. It should be appreciated that other electron pathsare possible and that the exact path through which the electrons movecan depend on the profile of the bitline junctions, the combination ofthe voltage across the wordline and the common bitline, and otherappropriate factors.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for trapping chargesperformed on an exemplary array 600 of single program and erase entities602 as indicated by a dashed line. The single program and erase entitiescontain two adjacent physical memory cells 604. The two adjacentphysical memory cells 604 share a common bitline 606. The single programand erase entities 602 are connected by other two bitlines 608 at bothends of the single program and erase entities. The other two bitlines608 are not shared by the two adjacent physical memory cells thatconstitute a single program and erase entity; thus the other twobitlines are non-common bitlines. The physical memory cells 604 in thesingle program and erase entities 602 are also connected by wordlines.Since charges can be trapped in each single program and erase entity 602by applying a suitable voltage on common bitlines 606 of the singleprogram and erase entity 602, the method can be performed on anyselected single program and erase entity. Also, charges can be trappedin any selected single program and erase entity without any substantialelectrical effect on adjacent single program and erase entities.

Trapping charges in single program and erase entities 602 can beconducted by a suitable mechanism, such as hot-electron-injection.Trapping charges with hot-electron-injection involves applying arelatively high voltage to the control gate (e.g., wordline), connectingthe non-common bitlines 608 to ground, and connecting the common bitline606 to a predetermined potential above the non-common bitlines 608. Whena resulting electric field is high enough, electrons collect enoughenergy to be injected from the non-common bitlines 608 onto chargetrapping layers in the single program and erase entity 602. As a resultof the trapped electrons in the charge tapping layers, the thresholdvoltage of the single program and erase entity 602 increases. Thischange in the threshold voltage (and thereby the channel conductance) ofthe single program and erase entity 602 created by the trapped electronsis what causes the single program and erase entity 602 to be programmedor erased.

The method for trapping charges is performed on single program and eraseentities 602 that are disposed next to each other in rows. Since eachsingle program and erase entity 602 contains two adjacent physicalmemory cells and the single program and erase entities 602 are disposednext to each other in rows, common bitlines 606 shared by the twoadjacent physical memory cells are on every other line. In other words,the common bitlines 606 of single program and erase entities 602 existalternately in rows. As a result, trapping charges involves applying asuitable voltage (e.g., hot-electron-injection voltage or programmingvoltage) to at most every other bitline in rows. The position of thebitline whose voltage state is changed can be sequentially shifted toevery other bitline or shifted to any common bitline of selected singleprogram and erase entities. In one embodiment, trapping charges involveapplying a suitable voltage to only odd numbers of bitlines or only evennumbers of bitlines. In another embodiment, trapping charges does notinvolve sequentially applying a suitable voltage (e.g.,hot-electron-injection voltage or programming voltage) to every bitlineor two or more consecutive bitlines in rows.

In FIG. 6, charges are trapped in a single program and erase entity(SPEE1) by applying a program gate voltage (PGV1) (e.g., ahot-electron-injection gate voltage (HEIGV1)) to a wordline 610,applying a program bitline voltage (PBV1) (e.g., ahot-electron-injection bitline voltage (HEIBV1)) to a common bitline 606of SPEE1, and connecting non-common bitlines 608 of SPEE1 to ground.When subsequently trapping charges in another single program and eraseentity (SPEE2), the charges can be trapped by applying a program gatevoltage (PGV2) (e.g., a hot-electron-injection gate voltage (HEIGV2)) toa wordline, applying a programming bitline voltage (PBV2) (e.g., ahot-electron-injection bitline voltage (HEIBV2)) to a common bitline 606of SPEE2, and connecting non-common bitlines 608 of SPEE2 to ground.

In one embodiment, by applying the gate bias on one of the two adjacentphysical memory cells of a single program and erase entity, one of thetwo physical memory cells can be programmed. FIG. 7 illustrates aprogramming operation performed on one physical memory cell of a singleprogram and erase entity 700. Specifically, FIG. 7 illustrates aprogramming operation performed on a left physical memory cell 702 of asingle program and erase entity 700. In this example, the wordline 704and the common bitline 706 of single program and erase entity 700 can beset to high voltages and the non-common bitline 708 of the left physicalcell 702 can be set to ground. As a result of the voltages applied tothe left physical cell 702, electrons can be made to flow from the leftnon-common bitline 708 to the common bitline 706 and toward the chargetrapping layer 710 of the left physical cell 702. A charge provided bythe electrons that enter the charge trapping layer 710 of the leftphysical cell 702 can then become trapped in the charge trapping layer710 of the left physical cell at a location 712 close to the commonbitline 706, thereby enabling the single program and erase entity 700 tostore a first bit of data in the left physical cell 702.

Similar to the programming operation illustrated in FIG. 7, the otherphysical cell can be programmed by applying a bias voltage on the otherphysical cell. FIG. 8 illustrates a programming operation performed on aright physical memory cell 802 of a single program and erase entity 800.In this example, the wordline 804 and the common bitline 806 of singleprogram and erase entity 800 can be set to high voltages and thenon-common bitline 808 of the right physical cell 802 can be set toground. As a result of the voltages applied to the right physical cell802, electrons can be made to flow from the right non-common bitline 808to the common bitline 806 and toward the charge trapping layer 810 ofthe right physical cell 802. A charge provided by the electrons thatenter the charge trapping layer 810 of the right physical cell 802 canthen become trapped in the charge trapping layer 810 of the rightphysical cell 802 at a location 812 close to the common bitline 806,thereby enabling the single program and erase entity 800 to store asecond bit of data in the right physical cell 802.

FIG. 9 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplary single programand erase entity 900 wherein charges can be neutralized in the singleprogram and erase entity. More particularly, FIG. 9 illustrates a methodfor neutralizing trapped charges in single program and erase entitiesvia band-to-band hot-hole-injection. By neutralizing trapped charges inphysical memory cells of single program and erase entities, the singleprogram and erase entities can achieve a low voltage state. As will bedescribed in detail below, the low voltage state can be assigned to anerased state or a programmed state.

To neutralize the charges, holes can be injected into the chargetrapping layers 904 by applying a negative high voltage (hereinafter,referred to as “hot-hole-injection gate voltage”) to a gate (e.g.,wordline) 906 and a positive high voltage of substantially equalmagnitude (hereinafter, referred to as “hot-hole-injection bitlinevoltage”) to the common bitline 908 while allowing the non-commonbitlines 910 to float. In one embodiment, the voltage across thewordline 906 is about −6 volts and the voltage across the common bitline908 is about 6 volts. As a result of the neutralizing voltages appliedto the single program and erase entity 900, the holes can be made toflow through the physical memory cells 902 in a path such as the pathillustrated by dotted line 912. Further, the holes can be made to enterthe charge trapping layers 904 near the common bitline 908, therebyreleasing charges provided by electrons in the charge trapping layer 904at charge trapping regions 914, 916. The charges can then flow out ofthe charge trapping layers 904 as a current 918.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for neutralizingtrapped charges performed on an exemplary array 1000 of single programand erase entities 1002 as indicated by a dashed line. Single programand erase entities 1002 contain two adjacent physical memory cells 1004on a substrate (not shown). The two adjacent physical memory cells 1004share a common bitline 1006. The single program and erase entities 1002are connected by other two bitlines 1008 at both ends of the singleprogram and erase entities. The other two bitlines are not shared by thetwo adjacent physical memory cells that constitute a single program anderase entity; thus the other two bitlines are non-common bitlines. Thephysical memory cells 1004 in the single program and erase entities 1002are also connected by wordlines 1010. Since trapped charges can beneutralized in each single program and erase entity 1002 by applying asuitable voltage on common bitlines 1006 of the single program and eraseentities, the method can be performed on any selected single program anderase entity 1002. Each single program and erase entity 1002 also can beerased without any substantial electrical effect on adjacent singleprogram and erase entities.

Trapped charges can be neutralized by a suitable mechanism, such as ahot-hole-injection. Neutralizing charges with hot-hole-injectioninvolves applying a negative high voltage to the wordline 1010 and apositive high voltage of substantially equal magnitude to the commonbitline 1006 while allowing the non-common bitlines 1008 to float. Theseapplied voltages cause the electrons that are trapped into the chargetrapping layer to undergo either Fowler-Nordheim tunneling or hot holeneutralization through a first dielectric layer (e.g., thin tunnel oxidelayer) to either a substrate (P-well) or a source/drain depending on thetype of method being performed.

In FIG. 10, charges trapped in a single program and erase entity (SPEE1)are neutralized by applying an erase gate voltage (e.g., ahot-hole-injection gate voltage (HHIGV1)) to a wordline 1010, applyingan erase bitline voltage (e.g., a hot-hole-injection bitline voltage(HHIBV1)) to a common bitline 1006, and allowing non-common bitlines1008 to float. When subsequently neutralizing charges in another singleprogram and erase entity (SPEE2), the charges can be neutralized byapplying a hot-hole-injection gate voltage (HHIGV2) to a wordline 1010,applying a hot-hole-injection bitline voltage (HHIBV2) to a commonbitline 1006 of the single program and erase entity, and allowingnon-common bitlines 1008 of the single program and erase entity tofloat.

Single program and erase entities 1002 are disposed next to each otherin rows. Since each single program and erase entity 1002 contains twoadjacent physical memory cells 1004, common bitlines 1006 shared by thetwo adjacent physical memory cells 1004 of single program and eraseentities are on every other line in rows. In other words, the commonbitlines 1006 of single program and erase entities 1002 existalternately in rows. As a result, a method for neutralizing chargesinvolves applying a suitable neutralizing voltage (e.g.,hot-hole-injection voltage) to at most every other bitline in rows. Theposition of the bitline whose voltage state is changed can besequentially shifted to every other bitline or shifted to any bitline ofselected single program and erase entities. In one embodiment, a methodfor neutralizing charges involves applying a suitable voltage to onlyodd numbers of bitlines or only even numbers of bitlines. In anotherembodiment, a method for neutralizing charges does not involvesequentially applying a hot-hole-injection bitline voltage to everybitline, or two or more consecutive bitlines in rows. In yet anotherembodiment, a method for neutralizing charges does not involve a sectorerase.

FIG. 11 illustrate a flash device 1100 for operating a flash deviceusing single program and erase entities. The flash device can contain amemory core 1102 containing a plurality of single program and eraseentities 1104 and one or more decoders such as a bitline decoder 1106(e.g., Y decoder or column decoder) and a wordline decoder 1108 (e.g., Xdecoder or row decoder). The bitline decoder and the wordline controllercan decode I/Os during various operations that are performed on thesingle program and erase entities (e.g., programming, reading, erasing).

Two adjacent physical memory cells in any suitable portion of or anentire of the memory array 1102 can be mapped as a single program anderase entity. Various operations can be performed on the flash device1100 according to the mapping. Single program and erase entities can beselected by decoders, and programming, reading, and/or erasing areperformed on a basis of the single program and erase entity.

The decoders 1106, 1108 can facilitate operating a portion of or anentire of the memory array on the basis of the single program and eraseentity. The bitline decoder can select one or more columns and thewordline decoder can select one or more rows. Any suitable decoder canbe employed as long as the decoder can select one or more single programand erase entities for access. In one embodiment, while operating aflash memory, the decoders do not perform a sector erase in a portion ofor an entire of a memory core. In other words, in one embodiment, abitline decoder does not sequentially select two or more consecutivebitlines for applying an erase bitline voltage. In another embodiment,the decoders do not select bitlines between the single program and eraseentities (e.g., non-common bitlines) for applying an erase bitlinevoltage.

The decoders 1106, 1108 can select one or more single program and eraseentities in response to received addresses. The decoders can select oneor more addresses by any suitable technique. In one embodiment, a table(e.g., a lookup table) is employed to implement decoders. The table candrive a register-transfer-level (RTL) description to implement decoders(e.g., bitline decoders). The decoders can be a table-driven decoder.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of an exemplary methodology for operating aflash device using single program and erase entities. At 1200, a flashdevice is programmed on a basis of a single program and erase entity.The single program and erase entity includes two adjacent dual bitphysical memory cells of the flash device as a single logical cell. At1204, the flash device is erased on the basis of the single program anderase entity. The flash device can be programmed and then erased on thebasis of the single program and erase entity. In another embodiment, theflash device can be erased and then programmed on the basis of thesingle program and erase entity.

Although not shown in FIG. 12, while erasing a portion of or an entireof the flash device on the basis of the single program and erase, asector erase is not performed in the portion of or the entire of theflash memory. In another embodiment, while erasing a portion of or anentire of the flash device on the basis of the single program and erase,an erase pulse is not sequentially applied to two or more consecutivebitlines in the portion of or the entire of the flash memory.

The various operations (e.g., programming, erasing, reading) areperformed on a basis of a single program and erase entity. In oneembodiment, programming the flash memory device on a basis of a singleprogram and erase entity involves applying a program pulse to a portionof or an entire of the flash memory on the basis of the single programand erase entity. In another embodiment, programming the flash memorydevice on a basis of a single program and erase entity involves applyinga program gate voltage to a gate, applying a program bitline voltage toa common bitline of the single program and erase entity that is sharedby the two adjacent dual bit physical memory cells, and connecting atleast one of non-common bitlines of the single program and erase entitythat are not shared by the two adjacent dual bit physical memory cellsto ground. The program gate voltage can include a hot-electron-injectiongate voltage and the program bitline voltage can include ahot-electron-injection bitline voltage.

Erasing can be performed on a basis of a single program and eraseentity. In one embodiment, erasing the flash device on the basis of thesingle program and erase entity involves applying an erase pulse to aportion of or an entire of the flash memory on the basis of the singleprogram and erase entity. In another embodiment, erasing the flashdevice on the basis of the single program and erase entity involvesapplying a erase gate voltage to a gate, applying a erase bitlinevoltage to a common bitline of the single program and erase entity thatis shared by the two adjacent dual bit physical memory cells, andallowing non-common bitlines of the single program and erase entity thatare not shared by the two adjacent dual bit physical memory cells tofloat. The erase gate voltage includes a hot-hole-injection gate voltageand the erase bitline voltage includes a hot-hole-injection bitlinevoltage.

Each bit of physical memory cells of single program and erase entitiescan be programmed to multiple levels. When voltages utilized to programsingle program and erase entities are increased or sustained for longerperiods of time, the number of electrons or amount of charge stored inthe single program and erase entities can be increased or otherwisevaried. This allows the single program and erase entities to be utilizedfor additional data storage and/or programming states. For example,different amounts of charge can correspond to different programmedstates. This technique is also called multi-level cell technology, whichis useful to increase density and reduce manufacturing costs.

In one embodiment, dual bit physical memory cells of single program anderase entities contain storage nodes having two different states orlevels, for example, 1 and 2. Level 1 can correspond to a situationwhere the storage nodes are blank or un-programmed, and level 2 cancorrespond to programmed. By way of illustration, charge storage nodes414 and/or 416 described in FIG. 4 can have two different states orlevels.

FIG. 13 is a graph 1300 illustrating an unsigned Vt distribution 1302,1304 of a charge storage node. The Vt distribution represents apopulation of physical memory cell threshold voltages centered about twodiscrete target threshold voltages. Each target threshold voltageoccupies a range of Vt values designated by levels L1 and L2,respectively. Each level can be centered between upper and lower Vtlimits (e.g., Vt0, Vt1, and Vt2). The various levels can be arbitrarilyassigned corresponding binary states (e.g., L1=0 and L2=1, or L1=1 andL2=0) as desired by the user. When two storage nodes adjacent to commonbitlines of single program and erase entities are programmed at the sametime as described in FIG. 5, the single program and erase entities canbe programmed to two levels. When the two storage nodes adjacent tocommon bitlines of single program and erase entities are programmedindependently from each other as described in FIGS. 7 and 8, the singleprogram and erase entities can be programmed to multiple levels such asfour.

In another embodiment, dual bit physical memory cells of single programand erase entities contain storage nodes having four different states orlevels, namely 1, 2, 3, and 4. Level 1 can correspond to a situationwhere the storage nodes are blank or un-programmed, and levels 2, 3 and4 correspond to increased amounts of stored charge, respectively. By wayof illustration, a level 2 can correspond to a relatively small amountof stored charge 434 in FIG. 4, while levels 3 and 4 can correspond toincreasingly larger amounts of stored charge 436 and 438 in FIG. 4,respectively.

FIG. 14 is a graph 1400 illustrating a four level of Vt distribution1402, 1404, 1406, 1408. Vt distribution 1400 represents a population ofmemory cell threshold voltages centered about four discrete targetthreshold voltages. Each target threshold voltage occupies a range of Vtvalues designated by levels L1, L2, L3, and L4, respectively. Each levelcan be centered between upper and lower Vt limits, for example, Vt0,Vt1, Vt2, Vt3, and Vt4. In one embodiment, target threshold voltagesVt2, Vt3, and Vt4 can, for example, have values such as Vt2=1.5V,Vt3=2.1V, and Vt4=2.7V.

The various levels can be arbitrarily assigned corresponding binarystates (e.g., L1=11, L2=10, L3=01, and L4=00, or L1=00, L2=01, L3=10,and L4=11) as desired by the user. When two storage nodes adjacent tocommon bitlines of single program and erase entities are programmed atthe same time as described in FIG. 5, the single program and eraseentities can be programmed to four levels. When the two storage nodesadjacent to common bitlines of single program and erase entities areprogrammed independently from each other as described in FIGS. 7 and 8,the two storage nodes can be programmed to multiple levels such assixteen different combinations of charge (e.g., L1-L1, L1-L2, L1-L3,L1-L4, L2-L1, L2-L2, L2-L3, L2-L4, L3-L1, L3-L2, L3-L3, L3-L4, L4-L1,L4-L2, L4-L3, and L4-L4) providing the equivalent offour-bits-per-entity. The sixteen voltage levels can corresponds tosixteen data states of a single program and erase entity.

In a similar way to the four level charge storage node as described inFIG. 14, charge storage nodes of single program and erase entities canhave any suitable number of levels. FIG. 15 illustrates an unsigned Vtdistribution 1500 having n levels. When two storage nodes adjacent tocommon bitlines of single program and erase entities are programmed atthe same time as described in FIG. 5, the single program and eraseentities can be programmed to n levels. When the two storage nodesadjacent to common bitlines of single program and erase entities areprogrammed independently from each other as described in FIGS. 7 and 8,the single program and erase entities can be programmed to multiplelevels such as n² providing the equivalent of high bit-per-entity.Single program and erase entities can contain physical memory cellshaving any suitable combination of both positive and negative Vtdistributions. In FIG. 15, for example, Vt0, Vt4, or another such Vtnlevel can be used as a zero voltage potential or another referencepotential of the memory cells.

Single program and erase entities containing multi-level physical cellscan increase the effective logical cell density by increasing the numberof possible logical states or data states, thereby allowing a singleprogram and erase entity to store information corresponding to more thanone data bit. This can be done by using multiple (three or more, in thecontext of cell levels and states) threshold voltage (Vt) levels, whichcorrespond to multiple data states per entity.

The quantity of charge stored in each storage node can influence anamount of current that flows between a common bitline and non-commonbitline during a read operation, as well as a threshold voltage (Vt)required to cause such current to flow. Thus, the level of stored bitsin a storage node can be determined by examining the currents as well ascorresponding applied threshold gate (wordline) voltages. In particular,low currents and high gate voltages can be indicative of higher bitlevels. Thus, when physical memory cells contain four level chargestorage nodes, measured currents and/or threshold voltages that fallwithin first, second, third or fourth ranges can be indicative of alevel 1, level 2, level 3 or level 4, respectively for the stored bit.

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram of an exemplary methodology for operating aflash device using single program and erase entities and using memorycells containing four or more data states. At 1600, a flash device isprogrammed on a basis of a single program and erase entity. The singleprogram and erase entity includes two adjacent dual bit physical memorycells of the flash device as a single logical cell. The dual bitphysical memory cells can contain four or more data states. In oneembodiment, each of the two adjacent dual bit physical memory cells canbe programmed independently from each other. Since the memory cellscontain four data states and each of the two adjacent dual bit physicalmemory cells can be programmed independently, the single program anderase entities can store four bits. Although not shown in FIG. 16,programming a portion of or an entire of the flash memory on the basisof the single program and erase entity can be performed by applying aprogram gate voltage to a gate, applying a program bitline voltage to acommon bitline of the single program and erase entity that is shared bythe two adjacent dual bit physical memory cells, and connecting at leastone of two non-common bitlines of the single program and erase entitythat are not shared by the two adjacent dual bit physical memory cellsto ground.

At 1602, the flash device is erased on the basis of the single programand erase entity. The flash device can be programmed and then erased onthe basis of the single program and erase entity. In another embodiment,the flash device can be erased and then programmed on the basis of thesingle program and erase entity. Although not shown in FIG. 16, in yetanother embodiment, at least one of the two adjacent dual bit physicalmemory cells are selected by a decoder for programming the flash deviceand one or more single program and erase entities are selected bydecoders for erasing the flash device.

FIG. 17 illustrates cross-sectional views of an exemplary single programand erase entity wherein charges can be trapped and neutralized in thesingle program and erase entity. As disclosed above, trapping chargesand neutralizing trapped charges in storage nodes can be performed onany selected single program and erase entity independently. Trappingcharges and neutralizing trapped charges in storage nodes can beperformed on a selected single program and erase entity without anysubstantial electrical effect on adjacent single program and eraseentities. As a result, the subject innovation can provide two types ofprogram and erase operations (Types 1 and 2).

In one embodiment, single program and erase entities are programmed to ahigh voltage state and erased to a low voltage state (Type 1). In otherwords, a high voltage state is assigned to a programmed state and a lowvoltage state is assigned to an erased state. The high voltage state inFIG. 17 can correspond to FIG. 5. The low voltage state in FIG. 17 cancorrespond to FIG. 9. In another embodiment, single program and eraseentities are programmed to a low voltage state and erased to a highvoltage state (Type 2). In other words, a low voltage state is assignedto a programmed state and a high voltage state is assigned to an erasedstate. Since trapping charges and neutralizing trapped charges instorage nodes can be performed on a single program and erase entitywithout any substantial electrical effect on adjacent single program anderase entities, erasing and programming can be accomplished on anysuitable number of single program and erase entities such as on a byteor variable length basis.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for trappingcharges and neutralizing trapped charges performed on an exemplarymemory array 1800 of single program and erase entities 1802. Charges canbe trapped in the same manner as described for trapping charges inconnection with FIG. 6. Trapped charges can be neutralized in the samemanner as described for neutralizing trapped charges in connection withFIG. 10. Trapping charges and neutralizing trapped charges can beperformed on a basis of the single program and erase entity (e.g., inunits of single program and erase entities). In one embodiment,neutralizing trapped charges does not require a sector erase. As aresult, each single program and erase entity can be changed its voltagestate independently from a high voltage state to a low voltage state andfrom a low voltage state to a high voltage state.

Trapping charges and neutralizing trapped charges can be performed onany suitable single program and erase entity in an array. Charges can betrapped in a single program and erase entity (SPEE1) by applying ahot-electron-injection gate voltage (HEIGV) to a wordline 1804, applyinga hot-electron-injection bitline voltage (HEIBV1) to a common bitline1806, and connecting non-common bitlines 1808 to ground. Trapped chargesin SPEE1 can be neutralized by applying a hot-hole-injection gatevoltage (HHIGV) to a wordline 1804, applying a hot-hole-injectionbitline voltage (HHBV1) to a common bitline 1806, and allowingnon-common bitlines 1808 to float. Since a sector erase is not requiredfor neutralizing trapped charges, trapping charges and neutralizingtrapped charges can be performed on the single program and eraseentities at any suitable time without performing a sector erase. As aresult, a high voltage state can be assigned to a programmed state and alow voltage state can be assigned to an erased state, or a low voltagestate can be assigned to a programmed state and a high voltage state canbe assigned to an erased state.

An erase operation of conventional flash memories is generallyaccomplished in one direction (e.g., from a high voltage state or binaryvalue “0” to a low voltage state or binary value “1”) on asector-by-sector basis. As a result, a program operation of conventionalflash memories is also generally accomplished in one direction (e.g.,from a low voltage state or binary value “1” to a high voltage state orbinary value “0”). The conventional sector erase is typicallyaccomplished by a pre-program cycle, erase cycle, and soft programcycle. The pre-programming puts each memory cell in a high voltage stateor a programmed state. This is accomplished by applying a program pulseto each memory cell to store a charge in the charge trapping layer. Thisis done to eliminate or reduce the chance of removing too many electronsfrom the memory cells during the erase process. Once the pre-programminghas been completed, erasing can be performed by one or more applicationsof short erase pulses (e.g., an erase cycle). After each erase pulse, anerase verification or read is performed to determine if each cell in thearray is now “erased” (blank), yet remains “un-erased,” or“under-erased” (e.g., whether the cell has a threshold voltage above apredetermined limit). If an under-erased cell is detected, an additionalerase pulse is applied to the entire sector, block, or array until allcells are sufficiently erased. With such a conventional erase procedure,however, some cells can become “over-erased” before other cells aresufficiently erased. A memory cell having a threshold voltage erasedbelow a predetermined limit can be commonly referred to as beingover-erased. For several reasons, it is undesirable for a memory cell toremain in an over-erased condition. If a memory cell is over-erased, thewhole column can become leaky. When such an over-erased cell isdetected, a soft program pulse is applied to the over-erased memory cellto pull its threshold voltage back into the normal population of erasedcells (e.g., a soft-program cycle).

In the subject innovation, erasing can be accomplished in twodirections, and programming can be also accomplished in two directions.The erase directions can include a first direction from a high voltagestate or binary value “0” to a low voltage state or binary value “1,”and a second direction from a low voltage state or binary value “1” to ahigh voltage state or binary value “0.” The program direction include afirst direction from a low voltage state or binary value “1” to a highvoltage state or binary value “0,” and a second direction from a highvoltage state or binary value “0” to a low voltage state or binary value“1.”

When single program and erase entities use a low voltage state as anerased state, an erase operation can be performed by applying ahot-hole-injection voltage to one or more selected single program anderase entities or all of the single program and erase entities (e.g., anerase cycle) and then soft-programming over-erased single program anderase entities (e.g., a soft-program cycle). In one embodiment, theerase operation does not require a pre-program cycle. When singleprogram and erase entities use a high voltage state as an erased state,an erase operation can be performed by applying a hot-electron-injectionvoltage to one or more single program and erase entities or all of thesingle program and erase entities (e.g., pre-program cycle). In oneembodiment, the erase operation does not require an erase cycle and/or asoft-program cycle. In both instances, the erase operations do notrequire all of the three cycles (e.g., a pre-program cycle, erase cycle,and soft program cycle). As a result, the erasing operations can reducean erase time and reduce wear on single program and erase entities dueto the reduced number of cycles. In addition, when single program anderase entities use a high voltage state as an erased state, the singleprogram and erase entities can prevent or mitigate over erase problems.

FIGS. 19 a and 19 b illustrate tables 1900, 1902 depicting exemplarymapping of voltage levels to a one-bit binary value. Single program anderase entities can have a one-bit binary value when single program anderase entities have two discrete target threshold voltages as describedin FIG. 13. Q1 represents bit values. In FIG. 19 a, an erased state canbe assigned to a binary value “1” and a programmed state can be assignedto a binary value “0.” Arrows in FIG. 19 illustrate state transitions ofsingle program and erase entities. Transition 1904 represents storing abinary “0” into single program and erase entities. Referring to FIG. 13,it can be seen that the transition 1904 represents a change in thecharge distribution of single program and erase entities from region1302 to region 1304, or an increase in voltage threshold, and transition1906 represents a change from region 1304 to region 1302, or a decreasein voltage threshold.

In another embodiment of FIG. 19 b, an erases state can be assigned to abinary value “0” and a programmed state can be assigned to a binaryvalue “1.” Referring to FIG. 13, it can be seen that transition 1908represents a change in the charge distribution of single program anderase entities from region 1302 to region 1304, or an increase involtage threshold, and transition 1910 represents a change from region1304 to region 1302, or a decrease in voltage threshold.

FIG. 20 is a schematic illustration for an exemplary method ofprogramming and erasing single program and erase entities using a lowvoltage state as an erased state. In this example, single program anderase entities use a low voltage state (e.g., binary value “1”) as anerased state and a high voltage state (e.g., binary value “0”) as aprogrammed state. All bits of single program and erase entities can beinitially binary value “1” or an erased state (State A). Data can beprogrammed by changing a voltage state of selected single program anderase entities from a low voltage state to a high voltage state. In thisexample, a hot-electron-injection voltage is applied to SPEE1, SPEE2,and SPEE5, and the data are programmed to “0011 0111” (State B). Then,the programmed single program and erase entities can be erased byapplying a hot-hole-injection voltage. In this example, ahot-hole-injection voltage is applied to all of the single program anderase entities, or SPEE1, SPEE2, and SPEE5, and the data are erased to“1111 1111.”

FIG. 21 is a schematic illustration for an exemplary method ofprogramming and erasing single program and erase entities using a highvoltage state as an erased state. In this example, single program anderase entities use a high voltage state (e.g., binary value “0”) as anerased state and a low voltage state (e.g., logic 1) as a programmedstate. All bits of single program and erase entities can be initiallybinary value “0” or an erased state (State A). Data can be programmed bychanging a voltage state of selected single program and erase entitiesfrom a high voltage state to a low voltage state. In this example, ahot-hole-injection voltage is applied to SPEE3, SPEE4, SPEE6, SPEE7, andSPEE8, and the data are programmed to “0011 0111” (State B). Then, theprogrammed single program and erase entities can be erased by applying ahot-electron-injection voltage. In this example, ahot-electron-injection voltage is applied to all the single program anderase entities or SPEE3, SPEE4, SPEE6, SPEE7, and SPEE8, and the dataare erased to “0000 0000.”

FIGS. 22 a and 22 b illustrate tables 2200, 2202 depicting mapping ofvoltage levels to a two-bit binary value. In FIG. 22 a, single programand erase entities can have a two-bit binary value when single programand erase entities have four discrete target threshold voltages asdescribed in FIG. 14. Q1 and Q2 represent bit values. In one embodiment,an erases state can be assigned to a binary value “11” and programmedstates can be assigned to binary values “10” (e.g., Program 1 state),“01” (e.g., Program 2 state), and “00” (e.g., Program 3 state), whichcorrespond to increasingly larger amounts of stored charge. Arrows inFIG. 22 a illustrate state transitions of single program and eraseentities. Transition 2204 from level 1 to level 2 represents storing abinary value “10” into single program and erase entities. Referring toFIG. 14, it can be seen that transition 2204 represents a change in thecharge distribution of single program and erase entities from region1402 to region 1404, or an increase in voltage threshold. Although notshown in FIG. 22 a, state transitions can be performed from one level toany other level. For example, a state of single program and eraseentities is changed from Program 3 state to any other level includingProgram 2 state, Program 1 state, and Erase state.

In FIG. 22 b, an erased state can be assigned to a binary value “00” andprogrammed states can be assigned to binary values “01” (e.g., Program 1state), “10” (e.g., Program 2 state), and “11” (e.g., Program 3 state),which correspond to decreasingly less amounts of stored charge. Arrowsin FIG. 22 b illustrate state transitions of single program and eraseentities. Transition 2206 from level 4 to level 3 represents storing abinary value “01” into single program and erase entities. Although notshown in FIG. 22 b, state transitions can be performed from one level toany other level. For example, a state of single program and eraseentities is changed from Program 3 state to any other level includingProgram 2 state, Program 1 state, or Erase state.

FIG. 23 is a schematic illustration for an exemplary method ofprogramming and erasing single program and erase entities using a lowvoltage state as an erased state when the single program and eraseentities have a two-bit binary value. Single program and erase entitiescan use a low voltage state (e.g., binary value “11”) as an erased stateand high voltage states (e.g., binary value “10,” “01” and “00”) as aprogrammed state. All bits of single program and erase entities can beinitially binary value “11” or an erased state (State A). Data can beprogrammed by changing a voltage state of selected single program anderase entities from a low voltage state to high voltage states. In thisexample, hot-electron-injection voltages are applied to SPEE1, SPEE3,and SPEE7, and the data are programmed to “0011 0111 1111 0111” (StateB). Then, the programmed single program and erase entities can be erasedby applying hot-hole-injection voltages. In this example,hot-hole-injection voltages are applied to all the single program anderase entities, or SPEE1, SPEE3, and SPEE7, and the data are erased to“1111 1111 1111 1111.”

FIG. 24 is a schematic illustration for an exemplary method ofprogramming and erasing single program and erase entities using a highvoltage state as an erased state when the single program and eraseentities have a two-bit binary value. Single program and erase entitiescan use a high voltage state (e.g., binary value “00”) as an erasedstate and low voltage states (e.g., binary value “01,” “10,” and “11”)as a programmed state. All bits of single program and erase entities canbe initially binary value “00” or an erased state (State A). Data can beprogrammed by changing a voltage state of selected single program anderase entities from a high voltage state to a low voltage state. In thisexample, hot-hole-injection voltages are applied to SPEE2, SPEE3, SPEE4,SPEE5, SPEE6, SPEE7, and SPEE8, and the data are programmed to “00110111 1111 0111” (State B). Then, the programmed single program and eraseentities can be erased by applying hot-electron-injection voltages toall the single program and erase entities or selected single program anderase entities (e.g., SPEE2, SPEE3, SPEE4, SPEE5, SPEE6, SPEE7, andSPEE8), and the data are erased to “0000 0000 0000 0000.”

Although not shown, similarly to FIGS. 19-22, single program and eraseentities having more than four bit binary values can use a low voltagestate as an erased state or a high voltage value as an erased state.Physical memory cells of such single program and erase entities can haven levels of Vt distribution of a charge storage node as described forthe Vt distribution 1500 in connection with FIG. 15.

FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary flash device 2500 thatcontains a plurality of single program and erase entities 2502 using ahigh voltage state as an erased state. The flash device can contain theplurality of single program and erase entities 2502 in a memory core2504 and contain one or more decoders 2506, 2508 such as a bitlinedecoder (e.g., Y decoder or column decoder) and a wordline decoder(e.g., X decoder or row decoder) in the same manner as described for theflash device in connection with FIG. 11.

The decoders 2506, 2508 can select one or more single program and eraseentities for erasing a portion of or an entire of the core of the flashdevice on a basis of the single program and erase entity by changing avoltage state of the single program and erase entity to a high voltagestate. In one embodiment, the decoders include one or more bitlinedecoders that facilitate erasing a portion of or an entire of the flashdevice on the basis of the single program and erase entity with theproviso that a sector erase is not performed in the portion of or theentire of the core of the flash memory. In another embodiment, thedecoders include one or more bitline decoders that facilitate erasing aportion of or an entire of the core of the flash device on the basis ofthe single program and erase entity with the proviso that an erase pulseis not sequentially applied to two or more consecutive bitlines in theportion of or the entire of the core of the flash memory. In yet anotherembodiment, the decoders select one or more single program and eraseentities with the proviso that the decoders do not select bitlinesbetween the single program and erase entities for applying an erasebitline voltage. In still yet another embodiment, for erasing a portionof or an entire of the core of the flash device on a basis of the singleprogram and erase entity, the decoders select one or more single programand erase entities for applying a hot-electron-injection gate voltage toa gate, applying a hot-electron-injection bitline voltage to a commonbitline of the single program and erase entity that is shared by the twoadjacent dual bit physical memory cells, and connecting at least one ofnon-common bitlines of the single program and erase entity that are notshared by the two adjacent dual bit physical memory cells to ground. Thememory cells in the memory core can include four or more data states,and the single program and erase entity can contain sixteen or more datastates.

FIG. 26 is a flow diagram of an exemplary methodology for operating aflash device that contains a plurality of single program and eraseentities using a high voltage state as an erased state. At 2600, aportion of or an entire of a memory core of a flash device is erased bychanging a voltage state of a single program and erase entity to a highvoltage state. At 2602, the portion of or the entire of the core of theflash device is programmed by changing a voltage state of the singleprogram and erase entity to a low voltage state. The flash device can beerased and then programmed. In another embodiment, the flash device canbe programmed and then erased.

Flash devices, systems, and methods disclosed herein can include anindicator bit that indicates an erase direction of a low voltage stateor a high voltage state. When an indicator cell indicates a low voltagestate such as an indicator bit “1” or “11,” an erase operation can beperformed by applying a hot-hole-injection voltage to single program anderase entities or an erase cycle. When there are over-erased singleprogram and erase entities, a soft program cycle can be performed afterthe erase cycle. In another embodiment, when the indicator cellindicates a high voltage state such as an indicator bit “0” or “00,” anerase operation can be performed by applying a hot-electron-injectionvoltage to single program and erase entities or a pre-program cycle.After a flash device is programmed, the flash device can be erased toeither a high voltage state or a low voltage state according to theerase direction indicator bit. As a result, the erase directionindicator bit can reduce erase time and/or reduce a number of cycles(e.g., pre-program cycles, erase cycles, and soft-program cycles),thereby increasing system reliability, efficiency, and or durability.

The erase direction (e.g., a state of an indicator bit) can be changedat any suitable time. When an indicator bit is a low voltage state suchas logical “1,” single program and erase entities can be programmed bychanging their states from a low voltage state (e.g., binary value “1”)to a high voltage state (e.g., binary value “0”). Before erasing thedata, the indicator bit can be changed from the low voltage state (e.g.,binary value “1”) to a high voltage state (e.g., binary value “0”).Since the erase indicator bit is now the high voltage state, the singleprogram and erase entities can be erased by changing their states to thehigh voltage state. In another embodiment, when an indicator bit is ahigh voltage state (e.g., binary value “0”), single program and eraseentities can be programmed by changing their states from a high voltagestate (e.g., binary value “0”) to a low voltage state (e.g., binaryvalue “1”). Before erasing the data, the indicator bit can be changedfrom the high voltage state to a low voltage state. Since the eraseindicator bit is now the low voltage state, the single program and eraseentities can be erased by changing their states to the low voltagestate.

Single program and erase entities can be read as erased or programmed bycomparing binary values of the single program and erase entities withthe indicator bit. When the indicator cell indicates a low voltage statesuch as an indicator bit “1” or “11,” single program and erase entitieshaving the low voltage states can be read as erased and single programand erase entities not having the low voltage state can be read asprogrammed. When the indicator cell indicates a high voltage state suchas an indicator bit “0” or “00,” single program and erase entitieshaving the high voltage state can be read as erased and single programand erase entities not having the high voltage state can be read asprogrammed.

FIG. 27 illustrates a table 2700 for depicting a mapping of an indicatorbit to a one-bit binary value. Single program and erase entities canhave a one-bit binary value when single program and erase entities havetwo discrete target threshold voltages as described in FIG. 13. When theindicator cell indicates a low voltage state such as an indicator bit“1,” a low voltage state (e.g., binary value “1”) is read as erased anda high voltage state (e.g., binary value “0”) is read as programmed.When the indicator cell indicates a high voltage state such as anindicator bit “0,” a high voltage state (e.g., binary value “0”) is readas erased and a low voltage state (e.g., binary value “1”) is read asprogrammed.

FIG. 28 illustrates programming and erasing single program and eraseentities using an erase direction indicator bit. In this example, asingle program and erase entity 9 (SPEE9) is an erase directionindicator and contain an indicator bit. Initially, an indicator bit ofSPEE 9 can be a low voltage state (e.g., binary value “1”) and all otherbits of single program and erase entities (e.g., SPEEs 1-8) can beinitially binary value “1” (State A). Thus, SPEEs1-8 are read as erased.Data can be programmed by changing a voltage state of selected singleprogram and erase entities from a low voltage state (e.g., binary value“1”) to a high voltage state (e.g., binary value “0”). In this example,hot-electron-injection voltages are applied to SPEE1, SPEE2, and SPEE5,and the data are programmed to “0011 0111” (State B). By comparing thestored bits with the indicator bit “1,” binary value “0” of SPEE1,SPEE2, and SPEE5 can be read as programmed. After programming and beforeerasing SPEEs1-8, the indicator bit can be changed from binary value “1”to binary value “0.” As a result, a binary value “0” is now an erasedstate. An erase operation on single program and erase entities thereforecan be performed by changing their states to a high voltage state (e.g.,binary value “0”) or by applying a hot-electron-injection voltage. Inthis example, SPEEs1-8 are erased by applying a hot-electron-injectionvoltage, and the data are erased to “0000 0000” (State C).

Now the indicator bit of SPEE 9 is a binary value “0” and all other bitsof single program and erase entities (e.g., SPEEs1-8) are binary value“0” or erased (State C). Thus, data can be programmed by changing avoltage state of selected single program and erase entities from a highvoltage state (e.g., binary value “0”) to a low voltage state (e.g.,binary value “1”). In this example, a hot-hole-injection voltage isapplied to SPEE3, SPEE5, SPEE7, and SPEE8, and the data are programmedto “0010 1011” (State D). By comparing the stored bits with theindicator bit “0,” binary value “1” of SPEE3, SPEE5, SPEE7, and SPEE8can be read as programmed. After programming and before erasingSPEEs1-8, the indicator bit can be changed from binary value “0” tobinary value “1.” As a result, a binary value “1” then indicates anerased state. An erase operation on single program and erase entitiestherefore can be performed by changing their states to a low voltagestate (e.g., binary value “1”) or by a applying hot-hole-injectionvoltage. In this example, SPEEs1-8 are erased by applying ahot-hole-injection voltages to SPEE1, SPEE2, SPEE4, and SPEE6, and thedata are erased to “1111 1111” (State A).

Similarly to FIG. 27, the subject innovation can contain an erasedirection indicator bit when single program and erase entities containtwo or more binary bit values. By way of example, FIG. 29 illustrates atable 2900 for depicting a mapping of an indicator bit to a two-bitbinary value. Single program and erase entities can have a two-bitbinary value when single program and erase entities have four discretetarget threshold voltages as described in FIG. 14. In this example, whenthe indicator cell indicates a low voltage state such as a binary valueof “11,” binary values of “11” stored in single program and eraseentities are read as erased and other binary values such as “10,” “01,”and “00” are read as programmed. When the indicator cell indicates ahigh voltage state such as a binary value of “00,” binary values of “00”stored in single program and erase entities are read as erased and otherbinary values such as “01,” “10,” and “11” are read as programmed.

FIG. 30 illustrates programming and erasing single program and eraseentities using an erase direction indicator bit when single program anderase entities contain two binary bit values. In this example, a singleprogram and erase entity 9 (SPEE9) is an erase direction indicator andcontains an indicator bit. Initially, an indicator bit of SPEE 9 can bebinary value “11” and all other bits of single program and eraseentities (e.g., SPEEs1-8) can be initially binary value “11” (State A).Thus, SPEEs1-8 are read as erased. Next, in this example, ahot-electron-injection voltage is applied to SPEE1, SPEE3, SPEE5, SPEE6, SPEE 7, and SPEE 8, and the data are programmed to “0011 0111 00010110” (State B). After programming and before erasing SPEEs1-8, theindicator bit can be changed from a binary value of “11” to a binaryvalue “00.” As a result, a binary value “00” now indicates an erasedstate. In this example, with an erasing operation, SPEEs1-8 are erasedby applying a hot-electron-injection voltage to SPEE2, SPEE3, SPEE4,SPEE 6, SPEE 7, and SPEE 8, and the data are erased to “0000 0000 00000000” (State C).

Now the indicator bit of SPEE 9 is binary value “00” and all other bitsof single program and erase entities (e.g., SPEEs 1-8) are binary value“00” or erased (State C). On a next program operation, ahot-hole-injection voltage is applied to SPEE2, SPEE3, SPEE6, and SPEE8,and the data are programmed to “0010 1000 0011 0010” (State D). Afterprogramming and before erasing SPEEs1-8, the indicator bit can bechanged from a binary value “00” to a binary value “11.” As a result, abinary value “11” is then an erased state. An erase operation on singleprogram and erase entities therefore can be performed by changing theirstates to a binary value “11” or by applying hot-hole-injectionvoltages. In this example, a hot-hole-injection voltage is applied toSPEE1, SPEE2, SPEE3, SPEE4, SPEE5, SPEE7 and SPEE8, and the data areerased to “1111 1111 1111 1111” (State A). At any suitable time betweenthe program operations and the erase operations, the stored data can beread by comparing the stored bits with the indicator bit.

FIG. 31 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary flash device 3100 thatcontains a plurality of single program and erase entities 3102 and anindicator cell 3104 in a memory core 3106. The flash device can containthe plurality of single program and erase entities and one or moredecoders 3108, 3110 in the same manner as described for the flash memory1100 in connection with FIG. 11. The indicator cell 3104 can contain anindicator bit as an erase direction of a low voltage state or a highvoltage state. The indicator cell can be a single program and eraseentity. The indicator cell can be programmed to indicate the low voltagestate or the high voltage state as erase state. The indicator cell canexist at any suitable place. For example, the indicator cell is in thesame memory core containing the single program and erase entities, asdescribed in FIG. 31. When the indicator cell is in a row of singleprogram and erase entities, the indicator cell can control an erasestate of single program and erase entities in that row. Although notshown in FIG. 31, in another embodiment, the indicator cell exists in acore that is different from a core that contains a plurality of singleprogram and erase entities.

The decoders 3108, 3110 can select one or more single program and eraseentities for operating the flash device on a basis of the single programand erase entity by changing a voltage state of a single program anderase entity to a low voltage state or a high voltage state according tothe erase direction. In one embodiment, the decoders select one or moresingle program and erase entities for erasing the flash device byapplying a hot-hole-injection voltage to the single program and eraseentity when the indicator cell indicates a low voltage state or byapplying a hot-electron-injection voltage to the single program anderase entity when the indicator cell indicates a high voltage state. Inanother embodiment, the decoders select one or more single program anderase entities for programming the flash device by applying a hotelection injection voltage to the single program and erase entity whenthe indicator cell indicates a low voltage state or by applying ahot-hole-injection voltage to the single program and erase entity whenthe indicator cell indicates a high voltage state. In yet anotherembodiment, after the indicator cell indicates a first erase directionand any operation of the flash device (e.g., erasing, programming,and/or reading) is performed with the first erase direction, theindicator cell indicates a second erase direction that is opposite tothe first erase direction, and another operation of the flash device isperformed with the second erase direction.

FIG. 32 is a flow diagram of an exemplary methodology for operating aflash device that contains a plurality of single program and eraseentities using an erase direction. At 3200, a first erase direction of alow voltage state or a high voltage state can be indicated. At 3202, aflash memory device can be erased by changing a voltage state of asingle program and erase entity in the first erase direction. At 3204,the flash memory device can be programmed by changing a voltage state ofthe single program and erase entity in a second direction opposite tothe first erase direction. In one embodiment, the flash memory device isread by comparing the voltage state of the single program and eraseentity with the erase direction. An erase operation, a programoperation, a read operation, or combinations thereof can be performed inany suitable order and any suitable number of times. For example, afirst erase direction is indicated and an erase operation and a programoperation are performed. And then, a second erase direction is indicatedand another erase operation and program operation are performed.

FIG. 33 is a flow diagram of another exemplary methodology for operatinga flash device that contains a plurality of single program and eraseentities using an erase direction. At 3300, a portion of or an entire ofthe flash memory is programmed on a basis of a single program and eraseentity to a voltage state that is different from a first voltage stateof an erase direction indicator cell. At 3302, the first voltage stateof the erase direction indicator cell is changed to a second voltagestate. At 3304, the portion of or the entire of the flash memory iserased on the basis of the single program and erase entity to a voltagestate that is the same as the second voltage state of the erasedirection indicator cell. Erasing the portion of or the entire of theflash memory on the basis of the single program and erase entity caninvolve neutralizing a charge in the single program and erase entitywhen the erase direction indicator cell indicates a low voltage state asan erased state, or trapping a charge in the single program and eraseentity when the erase direction indicator cell indicates a high voltagestate as an erased state. The method can further involve programming theportion of or the entire of the flash memory on the basis of the singleprogram and erase entity to a voltage state that is different from asecond voltage state of the erase direction indicator cell.

FIG. 34 illustrates another exemplary flash device 3400 that emulates anEEPROM features or functionalities (e.g., byte alterability) in a flashdevice using single program and erase entities 3402. The flash devicecan contain a plurality of single program and erase entities 3402 in acore 3404 and one or more decoders such as a bitline decoder (e.g., Ydecoder or column decoder) 3406 and a wordline decoder (e.g., X decoderor row decoder) 3408 in the same manner as described for the flashdevice 1100 in connection with FIG. 11.

For emulating EEPROM in a flash device, any suitable decoder (e.g., Ydecoder, bitline decoder, or column decoder, and X decoder, wordlinedecoder, or row decoder) can be employed as long as the decoder canselect one or more single program and erase entities for access. Whileemulating EEPROM in a flash memory, the decoders do not need to operatea sector erase.

The decoders can select one or more single program and erase entities inresponse to received addresses. The bitline decoder can select one ormore columns and the wordline decoder can select one or more rows. Thedecoders can select one or more addresses by any suitable technique. Inone embodiment, a table (e.g., a lookup table) is employed to implementdecoders (e.g., bitline decoders). The table can drive aregister-transfer-level (RTL) description to implement decoders (e.g.,bitline decoders). The bitline decoders can include a table-drivendecoder.

FIG. 35 is a schematic illustration for an exemplary method of emulatingbyte alterability in a flash device using single program and eraseentities. As disclosed in connection with FIGS. 17 and 18, the subjectinnovation can allow changing a voltage state of a single program anderase entity on a basis of a single program and erase entity, not asector basis. Since the high voltage state and low voltage state in asingle program and erase entity can be changed alternately (e.g.,programmed or erased) without a sector erase, the subject innovation canemulate byte alterability (e.g., EEPROM byte alterability) in a flashdevice.

By way of illustration, in FIG. 35, single program and erase entitiesuse a high voltage state (e.g., binary value “0”) as an erased state anda low voltage state (e.g., binary value “1”) as a programmed state. Arow of single program and erase entities (SPEEs1-8) can contain data“0010 1011” (State A). The data can be re-written to “0011 0111” (StateB). The data can be a user data. The data of State B can bere-programmed to “1111 0111” (State C), which can be in a program dataphase. Then, the data of State C can be re-written to an erase dataphase “1111 0111” (State D). Finally, the data of State D can bere-written to a final data such as a user data “0011 0111” (State E).

Although not shown in FIG. 35, charge storage nodes of single programand erase entities can have any suitable number of levels as describedin connection with FIGS. 13, 14, and 15. For example, the single programand erase entities can be programmed to four levels as described inconnection with FIG. 14. This can facilitate emulating byte alterabilityusing four-bits-per-entity.

FIG. 36 is a flow diagram of an exemplary methodology of emulating bytealterability using a flash device based on a single program and eraseentity. The method can be used as EEPROM emulation. At 3600, a voltagestate in a single program and erase entity can be changed to a firstvoltage state (e.g., a high voltage state or a low voltage state) on abasis of a single program and erase entity. At 3602, the voltage statein the single program and erase entity can be changed to a secondvoltage state that is different from the first voltage state. Althoughnot shown in FIG. 36, the voltage state in the single program and eraseentity can be change by applying a hot-electron-injection voltage or ahot-hole-injection voltage to a portion of or an entire of the flashmemory on the basis of the single program and erase entity.

The single program and erase entity includes two adjacent dual bitphysical memory cells of the flash device as a single logical cell.Thus, in one embodiment, the voltage state in the single program anderase entity can be changed to a high voltage state or a low voltage byapplying a hot-electron-injection gate voltage to a gate, applying ahot-electron-injection bitline voltage to a common bitline of the singleprogram and erase entity that is shared by the two adjacent dual bitphysical memory cells, and connecting non-common bitlines of the singleprogram and erase entity that are not shared by the two adjacent dualbit physical memory cells to ground, or applying a hot-hole-injectiongate voltage to a gate, applying a hot-electron-injection bitlinevoltage to a common bitline of the single program and erase entity thatis shared by the two adjacent dual bit physical memory cells, andallowing non-common bitlines of the single program and erase entity thatare not shared by the two adjacent dual bit physical memory cells tofloat. In another embodiment, the methodology in FIG. 36 furtherinvolves erasing the flash device by changing the voltage state to apredetermined voltage state on the basis of the single program and eraseentity. For example, prior to programming a flash device and/or afterprogramming a flash device, the flash device can be erased on the basisof the single program and erase entity to a predetermined voltage state.The flash device can be erased by applying an erase pulse to a portionof or an entire of the flash memory on the basis of the single programand erase entity.

FIG. 37 is a top view of another exemplary flash device 3700 containingsector configure resisters 3702. The memory device 3700 includes one ormore memory cores (e.g., memory cell arrays) 3704, one or more sectorconfigure resisters 3702, one or more input/output (I/O) registers 3706,one or more bitline decoders 3708, and one or more wordline decoders3710. The memory cell array 3704 includes a plurality of memory cellsarranged in an ordered array of rows and columns in the same manner asdescribed for the memory core 104 in connection with FIG. 1.

A flash device can include a combination of two different storageschemes or methodologies using one or more sector configure registers.The combination can share the same support logic in a flash device. Inone embodiment, a flash device contains a combination of a conventionaldual bit decoding scheme with a single program and erase entity decodingscheme. The conventional dual bit decoding scheme can be employed in adual bit memory device for high density storage. The single program anderase entity decoding scheme can be employed for emulating EEPROMfunctionality in a flash device, as described in connection with FIGS.34-36. Thus, the combination of the dual bit decoding scheme and thesingle program and erase entity decoding scheme can provide both dualbit high density storage and EEPROM emulation in a single flash device.

The single program and erase entity decoding scheme employs a singleprogram and erase entity as a single logical cell. In the single programand erase entity decoding scheme, the single program and erase entitiesare programmed and erased to a high voltage state or a low voltage stateas a single logical cell. The dual bit decoding scheme is a conventionaldecoding scheme employed for storing data in a conventional flashdevice. Details of the conventional dual bit decoding scheme are notcritical to the subject innovation. The details of the conventional dualbit decoding scheme can be found in, for example, commonly-assigned U.S.Pat. No. 7,130,210 issued Oct. 31, 2006, which is hereby incorporated byreference. In the dual bit decoding scheme, the dual bit memory cellsare typically programmed to a high voltage state and are erased to a lowvoltage state on a sector basis.

The memory core 3704 of the flash device 3700 can contain two regionsfor the two decoding schemes. Each region can contain one or moresectors, independently. A first region of the memory core can beselected for the single program and erase entity decoding scheme (e.g.,EEPROM emulation), and a second region of the memory core can beselected for the dual bit decoding scheme (e.g., conventional storage).Selection from the conventional storage and the EEPROM emulation in aflash memory can be achieved by using one or more sector configureresisters 3702. The sector configure resister can store data related toselection of virtual ground mapping of the memory array. The configureregisters form register means for storing selection information or data.For example, the sector configure registers store performance variabledata for operating the first region on the basis of the single programand erase entity and/or performance variable data for operating thesecond region in the dual bit decoding scheme.

Selection information and data stored in the sector configure registers3702 can be provided to the memory device 3700 using the I/O register3706. Contents of the sector configure register 3702 can serve as inputsto a state machine (not shown) which controls various operations (e.g.,read, erase and programming) of the memory device 3700. The statemachine can perform embedded operations based on the input from thesector configure register 3702 to complete reading, erasing andprogramming automatically without user interaction.

In the first region performing EEPROM emulation functionality, variousoperations can be performed on a byte or variable length basis. Asdescribed above, single program and erase entities can be operated on abyte or variable length basis. For example, program and erase operationscan be performed on a byte or variable length basis. In the secondregion performing dual bit storage functionality, erase operationsand/or program operations are typically performed on a sector or blockbasis. A block can be any suitable size, such as 16 rows by 256 wordsper row.

Sector configure registers 3702 can include any suitable register, datastorage circuit, or the like. In one embodiment, the sector configureregisters are delay registers or D-type flip flops. In anotherembodiment, any suitable data storage circuit can be fashioned toprovide the functionality of the sector configure registers. Forexample, a master-slave flip flop can be substituted, or the sectorconfigure registers can be provided with other operational features suchas hardware set. In yet another embodiment, the sector configureregisters are combined with combinatorial logic, timing or clockingsignals, or stored data to provide added flexibility.

The flash device 3700 can contain one or more first decoders for thefirst region and one or more second decoders for the second region. Thefirst decoders can select one or more single program and erase entitiesin the first region for operating the single program and erase entitiesin accordance with the single program and erase entity decoding scheme.The second decoders can select one or more dual bit memory cells forperforming, for example, a sector erase, in accordance with the dual bitdecoding scheme. The first and second decoders can be any suitabledecoder. For example, the first decoders are any of the decoders asdescribed above in connection with FIG. 25.

FIG. 38 is a schematic illustration a portion of a memory core 3800containing multiple virtual ground decoding schemes (e.g., First SectorGroup 3802 and Second Sector Group 3804). In this embodiment, the memorycore 3800 contains two ground decoding schemes of a single program anderase entity decoding scheme in the first sector group 3802 and aconventional dual bit decoding scheme in the second sector group 3804.

In the first sector group 3802, various operations can be performed on abasis of the single program and erase entity on a single bit or variablebit length basis. As disclosed above, in the single program and eraseentity decoding scheme, the single program and erase entities can beoperated (e.g., program, erase, and read) as a single logical cell. Inthe second sector group 3804, physical memory cells 3808 are used forvarious operations as a single logical cell. Erase operations and/orprogram operations are typically performed on a sector or block basis inthe second sector group.

Each of the two sector groups 3802, 3804 can contain one or moresectors. The memory core 3800 can contain any suitable number of sectorsfor the conventional dual bit decoding scheme and for the single programand erase entity decoding scheme. In one embodiment, about 1% of sectorsor more and about 100% of sectors or less in a memory core areassociated with a dual bit decoding scheme and about 0% of sectors ormore and about 99% of sectors are associated with single program anderase entity decoding scheme. In another embodiment, about 2% of sectorsor more and about 90% of sectors or less in a memory core are associatedwith a dual bit decoding scheme and about 10% of sectors or more andabout 98% of sectors are associated with single program and erase entitydecoding scheme. In yet another embodiment, about 5% of sectors or moreand about 80% of sectors or less in a memory core are associated with adual bit decoding scheme and about 20% of sectors or more and about 95%of sectors or less are associated with single program and erase entitydecoding scheme.

FIG. 39 is a flow diagram of an exemplary methodology for operating aflash memory device containing multiple virtual ground decoding schemes.At 3900, a decoding scheme is selected for a first region and a secondregion of the flash memory device. The first region and the secondregion can be selected by one or more sector configure registers. Asingle program and erase entity decoding scheme can be selected for thefirst region and a dual bit decoding scheme can be selected for thesecond region. At 3902, the first region is operated on a basis of asingle program and erase entity. In the single program and erase entitydecoding scheme, the first region of the flash device can be programmedand erased on the basis of the single program and erase entity. At 3904,the second region can be operated in a conventional dual bit decodingscheme. The second region can be programmed and/or erased on a sectorbasis.

What has been described above includes examples of the disclosedinnovation. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivablecombination of components or methodologies for purposes of describingthe disclosed innovation, but one of ordinary skill in the art canrecognize that many further combinations and permutations of thedisclosed innovation are possible. Accordingly, the disclosed innovationis intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications andvariations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.Furthermore, to the extent that the term “contain,” “includes,” “has,”“involve,” or variants thereof is used in either the detaileddescription or the claims, such term can be inclusive in a mannersimilar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpreted whenemployed as a transitional word in a claim.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The systems, structures, and methods described herein are useful in thefield of flash device manufacturing and useful in operating flashdevices.

1. A method of operating a flash device (100) comprising, programming aportion of or an entire of the flash device on a basis of a singleprogram and erase entity (402), the single program and erase entitycomprising two adjacent dual bit physical memory cells (404, 406) of theflash device as a single logical cell, the memory cells comprising fouror more data states (1500); and erasing the portion of or the entire ofthe flash device on the basis of the single program and erase entity. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein programming the flash device on the basisof the single program and erase entity comprises: programming each ofthe two adjacent dual bit physical memory cells in the single programand erase entity independently from each other.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein programming the flash device on a basis of a single programand erase entity comprises: applying a program pulse to the portion ofor the entire of the flash memory on the basis of the single program anderase entity.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein programming the flashdevice on a basis of a single program and erase entity comprises:applying a program gate voltage to a gate, applying a program bitlinevoltage to a common bitline of the single program and erase entity thatis shared by the two adjacent dual bit physical memory cells, andconnecting at least one of two non-common bitlines of the single programand erase entity that are not shared by the two adjacent dual bitphysical memory cells to ground.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein theprogram gate voltage comprises a hot-electron-injection gate voltage andthe program bitline voltage comprises a hot-electron-injection bitlinevoltage.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein erasing the flash device onthe basis of the single program and erase entity comprises: applying anerase pulse to the portion of or the entire of the flash memory on thebasis of the single program and erase entity.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein erasing the flash device on the basis of the single program anderase entity comprises: applying a erase gate voltage to a gate,applying a erase bitline voltage to a common bitline is shared by thetwo adjacent dual bit physical memory cells, and allowing at least oneof non-common bitlines that are not shared by the two adjacent dual bitphysical memory cells to float.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein theerase gate voltage comprises a hot-hole-injection gate voltage and theerase bitline voltage comprises a hot-hole-injection bitline voltage. 9.The method of claim 1, wherein the portion of or the entire of the flashdevice is erased on the basis of the single program and erase entitywith the proviso that a sector erase is not performed in the portion ofor the entire of the flash memory.
 10. The method of claim 1, whereinthe portion of or the entire of the flash device is erased on the basisof the single program and erase entity with the proviso that an erasepulse is not sequentially applied to two or more consecutive bitlines inthe portion of or the entire of the flash memory.
 11. A method ofoperating a flash device (100) comprising a plurality of dual bit memorycells (404, 406), the memory cells comprising four or more data states(1500), the method comprising; mapping two adjacent physical memorycells as a single program and erase entity (402); programming a portionof or an entire of the flash memory on a basis of the single program anderase entity by applying a program gate voltage to a gate, applying aprogram bitline voltage to a common bitline of the single program anderase entity that is shared by the two adjacent dual bit physical memorycells, and connecting at least one of two non-common bitlines of thesingle program and erase entity that are not shared by the two adjacentdual bit physical memory cells to ground; and erasing the portion of orthe entire of the flash memory on the basis of the single program anderase entity.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the program gatevoltage comprises a hot-electron-injection gate voltage and the programbitline voltage comprises a hot-electron-injection bitline voltage. 13.The method of claim 11, wherein erasing the portion of or the entire ofthe flash memory on the basis of the single program and erase entitycomprises: applying an erase pulse to the portion of or the entire ofthe flash memory on the basis of the single program and erase entity.14. The method of claim 11, wherein the erasing the portion of or theentire of the flash memory on the basis of the single program and eraseentity comprises: applying a erase gate voltage to a gate, applying aerase bitline voltage to a common bitline that is shared by the twoadjacent dual bit physical memory cells, and allowing the non-commonbitlines that are not shared by the two adjacent dual bit physicalmemory cells to float.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the erasegate voltage comprises a hot-hole-injection gate voltage and the erasebitline voltage comprises a hot-hole-injection bitline voltage.
 16. Aflash device (100) comprising a plurality of dual bit memory cells (404,406), comprising; a plurality of single program and erase entities (402)comprising two adjacent dual bit physical memory cells, the bit memorycells comprising four or more data states (1500); and one or moredecoders (108, 110), that select at least one of the two adjacent dualbit physical memory cells for programming the flash device and selectone or more single program and erase entities for erasing the flashdevice.
 17. The flash device of claim 16, wherein the four or more datastates comprise one erased state and three or more programmed states.18. The flash device of claim 16, wherein the decoders comprises one ormore bitline decoders that facilitate erasing a portion of or an entireof the flash device on the basis of the single program and erase entitywith the proviso that a sector erase is not performed in the portion ofor the entire of the flash memory.
 19. The flash device of claim 16,wherein the decoders comprises one or more bitline decoders thatfacilitate erasing a portion of or an entire of the flash device on thebasis of the single program and erase entity with the proviso that anerase pulse is not sequentially applied to two or more consecutivebitlines in the portion of or the entire of the flash memory.
 20. Theflash device of claim 16, wherein the single program and erase entitycomprises sixteen or more data states.